The Messenger May 2021
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St. Thomas Orthodox Church
PO Box 1042 — 1100 Jones St. — Sioux City, Iowa 51102 +1(712)258-7166 – info@stthomassiouxcity.org https://stthomassiouxcity.org
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Our Mission St. Thomas Orthodox Church is a community of Christians who proclaim the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as handed down by the Apostles. We are committed to bringing the Light of Christ to all of Siouxland in thought, word, and deed. At St. Thomas Orthodox Church, you will find Holy Orthodoxy—ancient and alive. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Weekly Schedule Orthros and Divine Liturgy Sundays at 9:00 a.m. Vespers Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. Great Vespers Saturdays at 6:00 p.m. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Birthdays 2 Ashley Stevens 3 Paul Lammers 3 Fr. Peter Cox 5 Gerald Stevens 20 David Suhr 21 Mark Lockwood 22 John Corey 2
On Easter and His Reluctance I. It is the Day of the Resurrection, and my Beginning has good auspices. Let us then keep the Festival with splendor1, and let us embrace one another. Let us say Brethren, even to those who hate us; much more to those who have done or suffered anything out of love for us. Let us forgive all offenses for the Resurrection's sake: let us give one another pardon, I for the noble tyranny which I have suffered (for I can now call it noble); and you who exercised it, if you had cause to blame my tardiness; for perhaps this tardiness may be more precious in God's sight than the haste of others. For it is a good thing even to hold back from God for a little while, as did the great Moses of old2, and Jeremiah3 later on; and then to run readily to Him when He calls, as did Aaron4 and Isaiah5, so only both be done in a dutiful spirit;— the former because of his own want of strength; the latter because of the Might of Him That calls. II. A Mystery anointed me; I withdrew a little while at a Mystery, as much as was needful to examine myself; now I come in with a Mystery, bringing with me the Day as a good defender of my cowardice and weakness; that He Who today rose again from the dead may renew me also by His Spirit; and, clothing me with the new Man, may give me to His New Creation, to those who are begotten after God, as a good modeler and teacher for Christ, willingly both dying with Him and rising again with Him. III. Yesterday the Lamb was slain and the door-posts were anointed, and Egypt bewailed her Firstborn, and the Destroyer passed us over, and the Seal was dreadful and reverend, and we were walled in with the Precious Blood. Today we have clean escaped from Egypt and from Pharaoh; and there is none to hinder us from keeping a Feast to the Lord our God — the Feast of our Departure; or from celebrating that Feast, not in the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth6, carrying with us nothing of ungodly and Egyptian leaven. IV. Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him; yesterday I died with Him; today I am quickened with Him; yesterday I was buried with Him; today I rise with Him. But let us offer to Him Who suffered and rose again for us — you will think perhaps that I am going to say gold, or silver, or woven work or transparent and costly stones, the mere passing material of earth, that remains here below, and is for the most part always possessed by bad men, slaves of the world and of the Prince of the world. Let us offer ourselves, the possession most precious to God, and most fitting; let us give back to the Image what is made after the Image. Let us recognize our Dignity; let us honor our Archetype; let us know the power of the Mystery, and for what Christ died.
1 2 3 4 5 6
Isaiah 66:5 Exodus 4:10 Jeremiah 1:6 Exodus 4:27 Isaiah 1:6 1 Corinthians 5:8
V. Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. Let us become God's for His sake, since He for ours became Man. He assumed the worse that He might give us the better; He became poor that we through His poverty might be rich7; He took upon Him the form of a servant that we might receive back our liberty; He came down that we might be exalted; He was tempted that we might conquer; He was dishonored that He might glorify us; He died that He might save us; He ascended that He might draw to Himself us, who were lying low in the Fall of sin. Let us give all, offer all, to Him Who gave Himself a Ransom and a Reconciliation for us. But one can give nothing like oneself, understanding the Mystery, and becoming for His sake all that He became for ours. VI. As you see, He offers you a Shepherd; for this is what your Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep, is hoping and praying for, and he asks from you his subjects; and he gives you himself double instead of single, and makes the staff of his old age a staff for your spirit. And he adds to the inanimate temple a living one; to that exceedingly beautiful and heavenly shrine, this poor and small one, yet to him of great value, and built too with much sweat and many labors. Would that I could say it is worthy of his labors. And he places at your disposal all that belongs to him (O great generosity!— or it would be truer to say, O fatherly love!) his hoar hairs, his youth, the temple, the high priest, the testator, the heir, the discourses which you were longing for; and of these not such as are vain and poured out into the air, and which reach no further than the outward ear; but those which the Spirit writes and engraves on tables of stone, or of flesh, not merely superficially graven, nor easily to be rubbed off, but marked very deep, not with ink, but with grace. VII. These are the gifts given you by this august Abraham, this honorable and reverend Head, this Patriarch, this Resting-place of all good, this Standard of virtue, this Perfection of the Priesthood, who today is bringing to the Lord his willing Sacrifice, his only Son, him of the promise. Do you on your side offer to God and to us obedience to your Pastors, dwelling in a place of herbage, and being fed by water of refreshment; knowing your Shepherd well, and being known by him8; and following when he calls you as a Shepherd frankly through the door; but not following a stranger climbing up into the fold like a robber and a traitor; nor listening to a strange voice when such would take you away by stealth and scatter you from the truth on mountains9, and in deserts, and pitfalls, and places which the Lord does not visit; and would lead you away from the sound Faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the One Power and Godhead, Whose Voice my sheep always heard (and may they always hear it), but with deceitful and corrupt words would tear them from their true Shepherd. From which may we all be kept, Shepherd and flock, as from a poisoned and deadly pasture; guiding and being guided far away from it, that we may all be one in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and unto the heavenly rest. To Whom be the glory and the might for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Gregory the Theologian
7 8 9
2 Corinthians 8:9 John 10:14 Ezekiel 34:6
In Memoriam Remembering those who reposed in the month of May Stephen Stevens, Selma Bashara, Mena Risk, Jennie Abdouch, Bernice George, Edith Ellis, Ferris Nicholas, Mary Saide, Jeanine Melham, Joseph Butrous, Bess Skaff, Nick Gosen, Abe Skaff, Fred Ness, Wadia Headid, Gladys Dawdy, Mary Haberer, Fred Alberts, Carla Bryce, Gerald Border, Maheeba Ellis, Solomon Murad, Donna Brienzo, Mariam Stevens, Katharine Hanna, Leo Bitsos, Esther McDaniel.
Ladies Club We hope you all had a very reflective Lenten journey. It is better to have the services available to attend in person rather than just online. We are heading into Holy Week and remembering all of Christ’s suffering for us. Let us turn to Him for strength for living in these crazy times with all that is going on in the world. He has the answers. God bless and keep everyone safe. Look for the blessings he has given you until we shout “Christ is Risen!”.
Sunday School The month of April in Sunday School has been digging in to the final book of The Relationship Project. The sessions in this book are even more intense than the previous sessions. We are talking about mental health, and all of the things that go along with that. Ask your teen about their thoughts on what they learn each Sunday. On Holy Friday we will be doing the annual lock-in, however it will look different this year. We will be “locking in” at Matt and Erica’s house for a few hours. With so much renovation going on, it just seems like a better place to do it. The kitchen at church is not accessible, and we ALL know the kids want to eat! Since we won’t be at church actually holding Vigil over Christ’s tomb, we are asking all of you to help us with this. Before you go to bed Friday night, or if you happen to wake up during the night, will you join us in “keeping vigil at home”? Spend some time reading in your Bible, or saying some extra prayers. Hopefully, at this time next year we will be having a real lock-in at church, God willing. The last day of Sunday School will be May 23. Thank you to everyone who supported our little fundraiser. We raised almost $500. Throughout the next year, we will be doing more fundraisers to be able to offset costs of our materials, events, and camp. SOYO really depleted the account with all of the charitable opportunities we were able to help with in the last year. We are always looking for ways to help.
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Meditation Diluted Medicine “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14) It goes without saying that diluted medicine isn’t as effective in curing disease as the full strength version. I know this from personal experience—I tried watering down my medication once when I couldn’t afford a new prescription. So much for that experiment. Diluted medicines don’t heal our physical diseases, so why do we suppose that diluted spiritual medicine can heal our inner lives? In today’s lesson, Jesus doesn’t say we should try to be the light of the world, or attempt to be a city that cannot be hidden. He simply declares that His true followers will be these things. You see, your fidelity to the Faith and your active participation in the life of the Faith makes you the light of the world. And this purposeful Orthodoxy provides spiritual medicine for others at full potency, rather than presenting people with a diluted version that doesn’t have the strength to save, heal, and guide. Today: Have you ever wondered why some find it so easy to abandon the Orthodox Church? Could it be that they have been inoculated by a diluted witness of the Faith? How sad that we insist on potent medicines for our physical ailments but accept watered-down medicine for our souls. Truly, we must be willing to go to Him who offers us the full potency of wisdom, faith, and love. As the light of the world, we are to attract wounded people to the only city that safeguards the medicine needed for their healing. Fr. Barnabas Powell _______________________________________________________________________________ “Liturgy is the immersion in the great narrative of creation and salvation; a participation in the formative energy that made and saved the world, and which, in its ever-renewed epiphany, reorientates the individual and community to the authentic springs of their being.” Fr. John A. McGuckin 6
St. Thomas on the Internet Until now, the main presence of the parish on the Internet has been our Web site at https://stthomassiouxcity.org but, over the next few weeks, you’ll see some major changes happening there as we overhaul the site. While it’s being renovated, you can still stay updated by visiting our various social media pages: Facebook page: Siouxland Orthodox Group: Instagram: SoundCloud: Twitter: YouTube:
https://www.facebook.com/St.ThomasOrthodoxChurchSC/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/689850188457371/ https://www.instagram.com/sathorch/ https://soundcloud.com/sathorch https://twitter.com/sathorch https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIkvjWIH3zMELHkelZ36kRA
Your personalized parish Web site can be found at https://stthomassiouxcity.churchtrac.com/
Let Us Attend! The following are the current guidelines under which we have permission from Bp. BASIL to gather for in-person worship: •
No more than ⅓ capacity at any service: for us, this is 75 individuals.
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Social distancing (6 feet) must be maintained between family units (defined as anyone living in your household).
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Social distancing must be maintained when entering and exiting the building and when lining up to receive Communion.
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Please be sure to wear your mask when entering and leaving the church, entering and leaving your pew, and approaching and returning from receiving Communion. Hand sanitizer is available in the narthex.
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If you’re ill, do not attend. If you are in a high-risk group, please consider carefully whether you should attend.
We want everyone who can to attend services but we also do not want anyone to feel pressured to return before they’re comfortable doing so. Thank you for your cooperation!
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March Parish Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2021 Via GoogleMeet In attendance- Fr. Peter Cox, George Stickney Jr, Frank Brienzo, Erica Ameen, Pete Steggerda, Judy Stevens Father Peter opened with a prayer at 7:04PM Fr. and George gave a short explanation of “consent agenda”, which means all reports would be sent prior to the meeting and be accepted in one vote. This would then leave time for any additions to reports and new business. George made a motion to accept all reports sent in, Fr seconded the motion, and all appro Fr has been busy getting ready for the first week of Lent next week. The latest COVID directives from the Archdiocese are we no longer have restrictions on capacity, but still maintain social distancing and sanitary measures. We can have Sunday School but cannot have Coffee Hour. Posty’s has been awarded the bid for the new flooring. They cannot promise us a date to begin, but we are the next project for them. In the next couple of weeks Frank will bring some sample flooring so colors can be chosen. Doulos- Fr Peter is doing a clergy cohort that is being led by Fr. Paul Hodge. There have been a lot of hard questions asked like what direction the church is heading and what are the needs for the future of the church? This training is something Father Peter has been looking at doing for a long time. Father is asking everyone to complete the questionnaire that was emailed. Father Peter is interested in seeing what the consensus of the council is on these questions. This training is something we can look at undertaking in the fall. Youth- Erica attended the Doulos training, and found herself in tears many times during the day. She felt that doing this training as a group would be extremely helpful for our church. Erica also did a Zoom meeting with Gigi Shadid, the DOWAMA eduction ditector. Erica will be sending out a Youth Lenten packet to families with some activities and reading.- Father is posting all meeting/zoom opportunities to the SIouxland Orthodox Group and encourages everyone to participate in those, His goal is to expose all to as many good speakers as possible and as many learning opportunities as possible. The Metropolitan has sent out a letter, and in it he says it is time for everyone to come home, it’s time to come back to church. Our next meeting will be Thursday April 15 at &:00 pm. Fr. Peter closed with prayer.
March 2021
Treasurer’s Report
Income 2021 Pledges
3,252.62
Miscellaneous
459.46
Other Donations
25.00 3,737.08
Total Income
Expenses 403 Education
-101.00
404 Internet
-370.45
408 Church Utilities
-790.53
409 General Supplies
-568.88
410 Office Expense
-49.10
411 Copier and Copy Expense
-91.43
431 Priest Base Salary
-3,550.00
432 Priest Cell Phone
-100.00
433 Priest Health Insurance
-800.00
434 Priest Life Insurance
-135.00
436 Priest IRA
-200.00
438 Priest Auto and Auto Insurance
-450.00
451 Archdiocese Assessment
-594.41
Total Expenses
-7800.80
NET
Operating Account Building Fund In and Out Account Savings Account
-4,063.72
$42,062.07 22,695.52 205.00 30,427.56
Treasurer’s Report
First Quarter 2021
Income 2021 Pledges
44,411.38
Miscellaneous
867.35
Other Donations
1,025.00 46,303.73
Total Income
Expenses 401 Maintenance
-2185.00
403 Education
-126.00
404 Internet
-633.11
406 Trash Pickup
150.00
407 Insurance on Church Property
-1,802.75
408 Church Utilities
-2,548.92
409 General Supplies
-806.12
410 Office Expense
-432.04
411 Copier and Copy Expense
-273.42
431 Priest Base Salary 432 Priest Cell Phone 433 Priest Health Insurance
-10,650.00 -300.00 -2,400.00
434 Priest Life Insurance
-405.00
436 Priest IRA
-600.00
438 Priest Auto and Auto Insurance
-1,350.00
451 Archdiocese Assessment
-1,783.23
Total Expenses NET
-26,445.59 19,858.14